by Cori Tyler
I think each of us that puts some thought into protecting
what we hold dear tend to periodically take stock of how we’re doing. If I’m wrong, then I’ll just talk about me,
because I definitely do a periodic inventory.
I mean looking at skills training, equipment, and what they’re all
needed for.
Like so many people, I need more training. Don’t get me wrong. I do OK, and I’ve been lucky enough to soak
in some very outstanding training from some great instructors. Still, I often find myself looking at what’s
available, and dreaming about what I’d like to learn, or who I’d like to teach
it to me. This is where the conundrum I want
to talk about comes into play.
Sure, I want to keep a measure of preparedness for the
worst-case scenarios on a global scale.
Nothing is impossible. I plan for
my family and friends to still be around when the zombies come, and flourishing
in a safe and secure place. That being
said, it’s probably a safe bet that I have a greater chance of running afoul of
a mugger, or a home invasion robbery, than a ghoul that’s craving my brain.
By the same token, I don’t see a lot of door kicking,
flash-bang tossing, dynamic entries in my future. It isn’t a need I have.
I’ve done that training.
I’ll be the first to admit. IT’S
A FREAKIN’ BLAST!!! When I did it, I was
working at a career goal specifically satisfied by that training.
That’s not where my needs are, today.
If we all take a look around the internet, there are
trainers coming out of the woodwork whose videos feature shooters with helmets,
vests, plate carriers, thigh holsters, bloused fatigue pants, and just about
every other tacticool thing in existence to show us all what a bunch of badass,
high-speed warrior-killers they are, and by extension, will transform anyone
awesome enough to complete their course into as well.
Let me be clear.
Those guys are cool (the ones who are the real deal). Their skills are cool. The ones who we’ll never know or hear of, who
do that kind of stuff every day? Yep,
they’re pretty cool, too. I’m in awe of,
and gratitude to, such people. Thank God
for spec-ops.
Also, their gear is cool, and fun to play with. I have a Kevlar helmet. It’s a souvenir from some of the
aforementioned training. I have a tac
vest. Know what? It has nothing to do with duty. Might it be handy if the world goes nutso and
I have to be a Minuteman? Sure. And, I may or may not have used exactly that
justification for keeping it set up. The
bigger truth is; it’s a handy way to carry a lot of crap for when I want to
shoot a lot of rounds. It looks pretty
cool, too.
I’ve worn it at the range a few times. Mostly, and the initial reason I bought it,
it was for wearing at a fun shoot:
Outbreak: Omega 5 in 2012. O:O6 is happening this June. You guessed it. I’m dusting off the tac vest for that. Like I said, it looks cool, and carries a lot
of crap for when I want to shoot a lot, which I intend to do at the dozens of
scenarios at Outbreak.
So, it could be that I’m basically doing zombie apocalypse
cos-play. It could also be there are a
lot of practical uses for this gear. The
vest is a convenient, easy way to carry some heavy stuff. It’s also got cool Velcro panels for some of
my sweet patches. When I gear up with
it, weapons, magazines, a Camelbak, and whatever else goes along with it, I
feel like I’m awful damn prepared. It
doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the daily risks I actually want to be ready
for.
You’ll probably notice a similar theme with the classes our
organization teaches. We aren’t training
spec-ops warriors. We’re teaching people
to defend themselves in their boring daily lives, in case they should find
themselves suddenly in much less boring circumstances. So, I’m not, and we won’t teach you to be,
“operator-as-fuck.”
We will train ourselves, and our students, to be
“lawfully-armed citizen going through daily life-as-fuck.” That’s the stuff that we see in our daily
lives, and that’s the stuff many people seem to forget to study in their own
training. So, if you find yourself
looking at what you’ve learned, what you want to learn, or what you see a need
to learn, ask yourself how it might be useful to you today or tomorrow.
There’s nothing wrong with having a good time with the other
stuff. Learning it is fun! Using the gear is great. The nice thing about shooting is, you can
make it into whatever you want it to be, on any given day. That’s why I know people who are cowboys on
one day, high-powered rifle competitors on another, police officers another,
and zombie hunters right alongside me another.
Enjoy yourself. Just
don’t kid yourself if you’re training at something for fun, that it’s something
else. Enjoy it. If you find something in it that applies to
your actual needs, throw it into your toolbox.
If you don’t, just have a good time anyway!
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